Peter Morrisey (Bruce Robinson) is an author who has just published his first novel. He meets receptionist Ann Halpern (Susan Penhaligon) and falls in love. They spend some time in a cottage in Scotland living an idyllic pastoral life, then return to London. Peter gets a job at an advertising agency as a copywriter. Ann becomes pregnant and Peter asks her to marry him but she refuses. To Peter's shock, Ann decides to have an abortion without talking to him about it first. After a spell in hospital Ann returns home and her father gives her a house. Peter returns to his flat alone, still thinking that he will marry Ann. With his friend Stephen, Peter breaks into an office block and steals a typewriter so he can resume his writing career.